The former US ambassador to Tunisia, Gordon Gray, said that Tunisian President Qais Said suffered many major setbacks this December, and that things for him are going from bad to worse.
The former US ambassador indicated in an article published by the "National Interest" magazine that these failures began during Saeed's visit to Washington - which was his first visit to the United States since his assumption of the presidency - to participate in the US-African summit, and have continued to accumulate since that time.
Gray - who also served as former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs - explained that Saeed's first failure was the International Monetary Fund's decision on December 14 to postpone consideration of a $1.9 billion loan package for Tunisia, even though the country is in dire need. to her.
He said that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund decided to postpone consideration of granting these loans - which were scheduled to be decided on December 19 this year - for an indefinite period, because Tunisia did not provide sufficient details about the economic reform package.
As for the second failure - according to Gray - it was represented in the fact that the Tunisian president's meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on December 14 did not go well.
And a video clip published by the US Department of the Interior, which included the first 13 minutes of the meeting, revealed that Blinken contented himself with making short introductory remarks, while the Tunisian president elaborated on the conversation, and his weak attempts to soften the atmosphere through jokes failed, and he was on the defensive.
Gray said Said's third fiasco was his meeting with the Washington Post editorial board later the same day he met Blinken, which had disastrous results.
The Washington Post, known for its strong support for Tunisia and its nascent democracy after the overthrow of former President Ben Ali, commented that Saied resorted to the outdated tactic of dictators, which is to blame the problems of their countries on foreign parties.
The former US ambassador to Tunisia referred to a number of challenges that Saeed faced after his return from the United States, and he also touched on a number of indications that the relationship between Saeed's regime and the White House has recently worsened.
Gray concluded that Saeed does not accept advice, even if it is from friends, and said that the Biden administration should seek to change his behavior by using its influence in the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund to impose conditions related to economic and political reform before granting any financial loans to his country, as he called on the Ministry The US State Department called for intensifying its public statements regarding the necessity of restoring the democratic process in Tunisia.